Review of mental health statistics in Wales

Overview

Why we did this review

Understanding the mental health of people is essential for ensuring that government policies and health resources are targeted effectively to improve wellbeing and reduce inequalities.

At the Office for Statistics Regulation, we have been exploring the extent to which mental health statistics in the UK meet users’ needs. We have published reviews of mental health statistics in England and Northern Ireland, as well as an update to our review in England. We have now turned our attention to mental health statistics in Wales.

Most of the official statistics on mental health and mental wellbeing in Wales are published by the Welsh Government. These statistics cover ‘core’ topics related to mental health services, such as public health and primary and secondary care services, as well as wider topics, such as education and maternity. Other producers include the Office for National Statistics, Public Health Wales and Digital Health and Care Wales.

The current overall provision of data and statistics on mental health in Wales is limited, however, and there have been calls for the Welsh Government to commit to collecting and publishing more data about mental health.

In its Mental health and wellbeing strategy: strategy and delivery plan, published in April 2025, the Welsh Government proposed a new mental health core dataset for Wales. Delivering the core dataset is a complex undertaking with several barriers.

This review critically assessed the current landscape of mental health statistics in Wales, investigating the extent to which existing data meet the needs of users. It has highlighted the limitations of available statistics and identified areas where information is lacking or inconsistent. The review has also explored the main obstacles to implementing the Welsh Government’s proposed core dataset, offering clear recommendations and identifying essential questions that must be addressed to enable meaningful improvement in the quality and coverage of mental health data in Wales.

Highlighted findings

The current provision of data and statistics on mental health is limited. Users identified several areas where they either need more information, or the data simply do not exist.

There are several issues with the current data and systems. These include inconsistent approaches to data collection and entry and those inputting the data not being specialists in data entry.

The Welsh Government’s planned core dataset aims to link data from different sources and will follow patients through their whole care journey. However, there are several barriers to its successful implementation across Wales, including funding and resourcing issues, a lack of suitable IT, and there being no legal mandate for health boards to adopt the new system.

Our judgement

Mental health data and statistics in Wales are at a crossroads: The current approach could continue, which would be frustrating for both the producers or the statistics and users. The alternative is taking a new direction, making more data of a higher quality available. Although this route is challenging, it will bring numerous benefits to all those involved in mental health in Wales.

The four recommendations we have made are designed to facilitate a smoother transition towards more comprehensive and higher-quality data.

Next steps

We will continue to monitor the progress and delivery of the core dataset, which we consider is necessary for statistics to provide a comprehensive picture of mental health in Wales. We will also continue to engage with statisticians in the Welsh Government as the core dataset is developed and to advocate for better statistics on this important topic.